“I’m heading out.”
“What? Weren’t you going to the club today?”
Kim Bo-jin looked at me with a face full of betrayal.
“So what were your CSAT grades again?”
“…Fuck. You’re bringing that gloomy shit up now? I was trying to forget and have a good time.”
“Whatever. Just go home quietly, set out a bowl of water, and pray. Think you’ll even get into a university in Seoul at this rate?”
“You little—!”
Leaving behind Kim Bo-jin, who spewed shit from his mouth, I greeted the driver who had come to pick me up and got into the car.
As soon as the door shut, everything became abruptly quiet. The vehicle moved smoothly. Sinking into the seat, Do Jihoon, whom I had met earlier, suddenly came to mind.
Nothing’s even happened yet. Did I overreact on my own?
His scent really was nice. I could immediately tell why he was the main gong. It was a cozy, warm fragrance.
But I didn’t particularly want to run into him again. I wasn’t going to let this world I’d entered flow exactly like the original story, but there was no need to deliberately raise any death flags either.
However, my wish was mercilessly crushed.
The next day, after absentmindedly rewatching a romantic comedy movie I’d already seen about five times in the classroom, I was heading home while choosing a lunch menu with Kim Bo-jin.
At the point where the East Building and West Building met, I caught that scent again without fail. A pheromone fragrance like the warm sun. My head unconsciously turned toward the dominant alpha. Our eyes met. I couldn’t hear the noisy chatter of the other students at all. I stared into those black eyes that felt like they would swallow me whole.
“Hey. You’ve got something going on with him, don’t you?”
Kim Bo-jin jabbed my side. Startled, a yelp slipped out of me.
“There’s nothing going on.”
I forced myself to sound calm. How could I possibly bring up the fact that talks of engagement were being exchanged between my family and Do Jihoon’s?
“Really? Then the club.”
As if nothing had happened, Kim Bo-jin shouted “club” while staring at his phone. Thanks to that, the slight stiffness in my body eased.
“You and that damn club again. Cut it out. Winter break’s in two days and we’ll be adults in ten, so let’s go then.”
I lightly smacked Kim Bo-jin’s arm and tried hard to tune out Do Jihoon’s scent.
But the next day, too.
“……”
And even the day after that—on the day of the closing ceremony before break.
“……I’ve been seeing him a lot lately, haven’t I?”
I ran into Do Jihoon every single day, enough for even oblivious Kim Bo-jin to notice. It was absurd.
What is this? Is this the original story’s forced progression? Is Yeon Yuri’s future nothing but a one-way ticket to ruin or something?
“Now that it’s break, I’ll probably see him less.”
“Oh! Right, break!”
“Jesus. Did you install a megaphone in your throat? Adjust the volume.”
“No, but like you said, we’re adults soon, right? Which means we can legally go to bars and clubs!”
Kim Bo-jin smiled brighter than I’d ever seen. It was practically saintly.
“You’re really… consistent….”
“So if you don’t answer your phone on the evening of December 31, you’re dead.”
“Nope. Can’t. I have plans with my family that day. Good luck.”
I put on the most regretful expression I could manage. But the more emotion I poured into it, the more twisted Kim Bo-jin’s face became.
“You fake bastard.”
“What do you want me to do? I’ve got plans. Go with someone else. We can go another day.”
“Fuck… what fun would it be going with those guys? Their faces look like squid and they smell like shit.”
“Wow, Kim Bo-jin, your personality’s trash. You do look in the mirror, right? And your nose works fine?”
“You son of a bitch….”
Kim Bo-jin sniffled theatrically. I patted his back. It was like watching a comedy skit.
“Let’s do January 1. That evening. I’m not postponing it any further.”
“Okay. Deal.”
And just like that, winter break began.
***
It was December 25, Christmas. A religiously significant day and a nationwide holiday.
And a day for lovers.
I was rolling around at home alone. My grand plan of going to sleep at 11:59 p.m. on December 24 and waking up at 12:01 a.m. on December 26 had failed spectacularly.
While I was lying face-down in gloom, flailing my limbs, my phone buzzed—bzzzz—and a KakaoTalk notification sounded.
[Kim Bo-jin: Hey come out lol you’re spending Christmas solo]
[Are you insane? That hurt like hell.]
[Kim Bo-jin: Just come oooout. I’m with alphas rn]
[Kim Bo-jin: These fuckers keep negging me even though they reek like shit themselvesㅜㅜ]
[Kim Bo-jin: They asked if it was okay to join our table first]
[Kim Bo-jin: Recruiting Yeon Yuri who will make these squid-like alpha bastards go into heat (0/1)]
[Not my problem?]
[Kim Bo-jin: Eeeh babe]
[Ugh I’m gonna puke; gotta go throw up so can’t go out bye]
[Kim Bo-jin: You asshole, if you come I’ll get you an IEL autographㅜ]
[Yeah, I don’t like them anymore.]
[Kim Bo-jin: How can love change]
A snicker slipped out of my mouth. This bastard was seriously something else. He was funny.
[Should I go out?]
It’s not like I had anything to do. My parents had gone to work on Christmas so they could rest on the 31st, and my older sister had gone to see her boyfriend. My parents were technically a couple too, so damn it, I was the only one single.
[Kim Bo-jin: Holy.]
[Kim Bo-jin: Holy shiiiit]
[Kim Bo-jin: I love you, hyung-nim]
[No need to thank me. I’m keeping this as a debt and will use it later.]
[Kim Bo-jin: Calculating bastard]
[?]
[Kim Bo-jin: I mean, how meticulous you are^^ As expected of hyung-nim bb]
[Where do I go?]
After getting the location from Kim Bo-jin, I layered on some clothes. People should dress warmly in winter, but… if Kim Bo-jin was getting dissed, I couldn’t show up looking sloppy. I opened Yeon Yuri’s neatly organized dressing room.
***
I arrived at the place Kim Bo-jin had told me about. Next to the sign that read AZ, in small letters, it said “For Trait Manifesters Only.”
I stepped inside the building and looked around. The mingled smells of omega and alpha were overwhelming and nauseating.
“Hey, hey! Yeon Yuri, here! Here.”
From a table deeper inside, Kim Bo-jin waved his arm wildly. Lightly pinching my nose, I walked over.
As I approached the table, I saw three alphas sitting across from Kim Bo-jin and two other omegas. A squid-like stench wafted over, so I glanced at the table, but there was only spaghetti and pizza.
So when Kim Bo-jin said it smelled like shit, he meant actual shit. How could someone’s pheromones smell like dried squid?
While I observed the alphas, they observed me too. They snorted when they saw me.
“This is a restaurant only for trait manifesters. How did a beta get in?”
At the mocking remark, I couldn’t hide my disbelief. It was even a little fascinating. It was my first time being treated as someone without a scent. And my first time meeting a beta supremacist.
“What are you talking about? He’s not a beta.”
“Bo-jin-ssi, you don’t have to cover for him. There’s no scent at all. If he’s not a beta, what—some kind of dominant omega?”
“Yes.”
At my answer, they burst into giggles as if I’d told the funniest joke. But when none of us laughed, their laughter gradually died down. The man who reeked of squid pancake slowly opened his mouth and pointed at me.
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
I didn’t feel like talking any longer. The moment I answered, I released my pheromones. My intense displeasure flowed out through them. A cool, sharp rose scent filled the table and spilled beyond it.
The strength drained from the three alphas’ eyelids. Their dazed expressions turned toward me. It was fucking unpleasant to be stared at by ugly bastards with rotten personalities, but at Kim Bo-jin’s triumphant look, I continued releasing my pheromones.
“So, what was it you said? I didn’t quite catch that.”
“N-No… that….”
The female alpha’s cheeks flushed as she panted. As the three alphas hesitated, Kim Bo-jin spoke in their place.
“I said the sour smell was fucking nasty. That it smelled like rotten tangerines.”
“Oh, really?”
The alpha who smelled like squid pancake lowered his head as he replied.
“No, that’s not—”
“Interesting. I don’t know about citrus, but I can’t breathe because something fishy stinks at this table right now.”
Cutting him off, I spoke coolly. Silence fell over the surroundings. Smiling, I opened my mouth again.
